THE GATE CITY JOURNAL, NYSSA. OREGON,
Synopala. - W a r n e d by his p h y s i
cian th a t lie has not m ore than nix
m on th s to live, Dan F a ilin g aits
d esp on d en tly on a park bench, w o n
d erin g w h ere he should spend those
six m onths. M em ories o f his g r a n d
fa th e r and a deep lo v e fo r a ll
th in g s o f the w ild h elp him In
re a c h in g a decision.
In a la rg e
southern O regon c ity
he m eets
people w ho had know n and loved
Ids gra n d fa th e r, a fa m o u s fr o n
tiersm an. H e m akes his h om e w ith
blla s L en n o x , a typ ic a l w estern er.
T h e o n ly o th er m em bers o f the
household a re L e n n o x ’s son, ' ‘B ill/ '
and d a u gh ter, "S n o w b ird .’ ’ T h e ir
abode is in the U m pqu a divid e, and
th ere F a ilin g plans to liv e ou t the
short span o f life w h ich he has
been told Is his.
F ro m the first
F a ilin g s health sh ow s a m arked
im p ro vem e n t, and in the co m p a n
ionsh ip o f L en n o x and his son and
d a u gh ter he tits in to the w oods life
us i f he had been born to i t
Hy
qu ick th in kin g and a rem a rk a b le
d isp la y o f " n e r v e " he sa ves L e n
nox s life und his o w n when th e y
a re a tta ck ed by a m ad coyote.
I^ennox d eclares he Is a re in ca rn a
tion o f his gra n d fa th e r, D an F a l l
in g 1. w hose fu m e as a w oodsm an
in a household w’ord.
D an learn s
th a t an o rgan ize«! band o f o u tla w s,
o f w hich B e rt C ranston is the
leader, Is n etting fo rest tires. Iain -
d ry H ildreth , a fo rm e r m em b er o f
the ga n g, has been Induced to turn
s ta te 's evidence.
C ranston sh oots
H ild reth and le a v e s him fo r dead.
W h is p e rfo o t, the m ountain lion,
sprin gs on H ild reth and finishes
him.
CHAPTER II—Continued.
—
9
—
And its for Whisperfoot—the terror
that choked his heart with blood be
gan t«i wear off In a little while. The
ni»m lav so still In the thicket«. Be
sides. there was a strange, wild smell
In the air. Wlilsperfoot’s stroke had
gone home so trueelhere had mot even
been ti fight. The darkness began to
lift around him, and a strange exulta
tion n rapture unknown before In all
his hunting, began to creep Into his
wild blood. Then, as a shadow steals,
he went creeping hack to his dead.
•
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•
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•
•
•
•
•
Pan Falling had been studying na
ture on the high ridges; and he went
home hy a hack trail that led to old
Bald mountain. The trail was Just
a narrow serpent In the brush; and
It had not been made hy gangs of
laborers, working with shovels and
picks. Possibly half n dozen white
men. In all, had ever walked along It.
ft was Just the path of the wild crea
tures, worn down by hoof and paw
and cushion since the young days of
the world.
It was a roundabout trail home,
hut yet It had Its advantages It took
him within two miles o f Snowbird’s
'ookout station, and nt this hour of
day he had been particularly fortunate
In finding her at n certain spring on
H ip mountain side. It was rather a sin
gular coincidence. Along about four
he would usually And himself wander
ing up that way. Strangely enough,
*t the same time. It was true that
she had an Irresistible Impulse to go
down and sit In the green ferns beside
the same spring. They always seemed
to he surprised to see one another. In
reality, either of them would have
been considerably more surprised had
the other failed to put In an appear
ance. And always they had long talks,
ns tin* afternoon drew to twilight.
“ But 1 don’t think you ought to wait
so late before starting home,” the girl
would always say.
“ You're not a
human hawk, ami It is easier to get
lost than you think.”
And this solicitude, Dan rightly fig
ured, was a good sign. There was
only one objection to It. It resulted
(n an unmlstnkhle Inference that she
considered him unable to take care
of himself—and that was the last
thing «»n earth that he -wanted her
to think
He understood her well
enough to know that her standards
were the standards of the mountains,
ruining strength and self-reliance
•hove all things. He didn't stop to
question why, every «lay, he trod so
many weary miles to be with her.
She was as natural as a fawn; and
many times she had quite taken away
his breath. And once she did It liter
ally. He didn't think that so long as
death spared him he would ever be
able to forget that experience. It was
her birthday, and knowing of It In
time he had arranged /or the delivery
of a certain package, dear to a girlish
heart, at her father’s house. In the
trystlng hour he hail come trudging
over the hills with It, an«! few experi
ences In his life had e v «f yielded such
unmitigated pleasure as the sight of
her, glowing white and red. as she took
off Its w rapping paper. It was a Jolly-
old gift, he recollected—and when she
bad seen It. she fairly leaped nt him.
Her warm, round arms around his
neck, and the aofteet. loveliest Ups In
•be world pressed hi*. But In those
fa vs he didn't have the strength that
b
ffe fait be could endure
him. But because Dan had learned
the lesson of Mtamilng »till, because
hls ollve-drub sporting clothes blended
softly with the colored leaves, Crans
ton did not detect him. lie turned
and strode on down the trail.
He didn’t move quite like a man
with Innocent purposes. There was
something stealthy, something sinister
In hls strhle. and the way he kept
such a sharp lookout In all directions.
Yet he never glanced to the trail for
»leer tracks, as he would have done
had he been hunting. Without even
waiting to meditate on the matter,
Dan started to shadow him.
Before one hundred yards hail been
traversed, he could better understand
tlie Joy the cougar takes In his hunt
ing. It was the same process—a cau
tious, silent advance In the trail of
prey. He had to walk with the same
caution, he hud to take advantage of
the thickets. He began to feel a curi
ous excitement.
Cranston seemed to be moving more
he same experience again with no
carefully now, examining the brush
HER EXACT WORDS.
embarrassment whatever. Hls flrst Im
'along the trail. Now and then he
pression then, besides abounding, In
glanced up at the tree tops. And all
Bill— So you asked the sweet little
credible astonishment, was that she
at once he stopped and knelt In the thing to marry you?
had quite knocked out hls breath. But
dry shrubbery.
Gill— Yes, I did.
let It be said for him that he recov
At first all that Dan could see was
“And she said ‘yes,’ I suppose 7”
ered with notable promptness. Ills
the glitter of a knife blade. Crans
“No, she didn’ t.”
own arms had gone up and closed
“Oh, she said ’no/ did she?”
ton seemed to be whittling a piece of
around her, and the girl had wriggled
dead pine into fine shavings. Now
"Not exactly.”
free.
he was gathering pine needles and
“ Well, what did she say, then?”
“ But you mustn’t do that!” she told
small twigs, making a little pile of
"She said: ‘Nothin 'doin’. ' ”
him.
them. And then, just as Cranston
“ But, good Lord, girl! You did It
drew hls match, Dan saw hls purpose.
Evidently, Not by the Senses.
to me I Is there no Justice In women?”
Cranston was at hls old trade— set
An American was with a gushing en
“ But I did It to thank you for this
ting a forest fire.
thusiasm describing hls new enr to an
lovely gift.
For remembering me—
“ It runs so smooth
For two very good reasons, Da a English visitor.
for being so good— and considerate.
didn’t call to him at once. The two ly.” he said, “ you can't feel It. Not
You haven’t any cause to thank me.”
reasons were that Cranston had a rifle o bit of noise, you can't hear It. Per
lie had many serious difficulties In
and that Dan was unarmed. It might fect Ignition, you can’t smell It. And
thinking It out. And only one con
be extremely likely that Cranston speed, why, It simply whizzes, you
clusion was obtainable— that Snowbird
would choose the most plausible and can’t see It.”
kissed as naturally ns she did any
effective means of preventing an inter
“ My word I” exclaimed the aston
thing else, and the kiss meant exactly
ruption of hls crime, and by the same ished Britisher. “ How do you know
what she said It did and no ni"* *re.
token, prevent word of the crime ever the hnlly thing Is there?"— Boston
But the fact remained that he would
renchlng the authorities. The rifle Transcript.
have walked a good many miles far
contained five cartridges, and only one
ther If he thought there was any pos
was needed.
Telephone Nightmares.
sibility of a repent.
But the idea of backing out, unseen,
Church— I understand an arrange
But all at once hls fantasies were
never even occurred to Dan. The Are ment has been patented so that when
suddenly and rudely dispelled hy the
would have a tremendous headway be a person Is talking on the telephone
Intrusion of realities. Dan had been
fore he could summon help. Although the face of the person one Is talking
walking silently Tomself In the pine
It was near the lookout station, every to is reflected on a mirror in front of
needles. As Lennox had wondered at
condition polnte»l to a disastrous fire. them, even If the person being talked
long ago, he knew- how hy Instinct;
The brush was <lry ns tinder, not so to is miles away.
and Instinctively he practiced this at
heavy as to choke the wind, but yet
Gotham—Well, I hope to gracious
tainment ns soon as he got out Into
tall enough to carry the flame Into If lhat Is so some people I happen to
the wild. The creature he had henrd
the tree tops. The stiff breeze up the know will never telephone me.
was fully one hundred yards distant,
yet Dan could hear him with entire ridge would certainly carry the flame
Strong-Arm Methods.
plainness. And for a while he couldn’t for miles through the parched Divide
even guess what manner of thing It before help could come. In the mean
"Politics is a game of give and
time stock and lives and homes would
might he.
take,” remarked Mr. Wapples.
I»*» endangered, besides the Irreparable
A cougar that made so much no’se
“ I'll subscribe to the flrst part of
loss of timber.
There were many
would he Immediately expelled from
your statement,” said Mr. Grnbcoln,
things
that
Dan
might
do,
but
giving
the union. A wolf pack, running hy
who had just had an experience with
up was not one of them.
an alert “ money digger.” “ I don’t par
After all, he did the wisest thing of ticularly object to giving, hut I do ob
all. He simply came out In plain sight ject to the kind of back talk I have to
and unconcernedly walked down the take for not giving more.”— Birming
trail toward Cranston. At the same ham Age-Herald.
Instant, the latter struck hls match.
As Dan was no longer stalking,
Cranston Immediately heard hls step.
He whirled, recognized Dan, and for
one long lnstaiu in which the world
seemed to have time In plenty to make
a complete revolution, he stood per
fectly motionless. The match flared in
hls dark fingers, hls eyes— full of sin
gular conjecturing— rested on Dan’s
1
face. No Instant of the latter’s life
had ever been fraught with greater
peril. Tie understood perfectly what
was golt»< on In Cranston’s mind. The
W H A T O F F IC E R S A R E F O R
fire-fiend was calmly deciding whether
to shoot or whether to bluff It out.
"So you’ve elected a now set of
One required no more moral courage
officers."
’’ Yes. Now all we’ve got to do II
than the other. It really didn’t make
to sit back and kick about the way
a great »leal of difference to Cranston.
they do things."
But he decided that the killing was
not wort»« the cartridge. The other
Cheerful.
course was too easy. lie did not even
It m a y be th a t I shall not do
dream that Den had been shadowing
A sin g le th in g w orth w hile.
him and had seen hls Intention. He
Bu t w h ile m y skies a b o ve a re blue
would have toughed at the Idea that a
I ’ ll t r y to sh ow a sm ile.
“ tenderfoot” could thus walk behind
him, unheard. Without concern, he
Best He Could Do.
senttere»! with hls foot the little heap
“ Good heaven, Dick I
Tan shoes
of kindling, and slipping hls pipe Into with evening dress— that’s awfully bad
hls mouth, he touched the flaring form I"
match to It. It was a wholly admir
” 1 know it, hut stocking feet with
able little piece o f acting. nn«l would evening
dress
Is worse."— Boston
have deceived any one who had not Transcript.
Dan Saw Hls Purpose.
seen his previous preparations. Then
sight, might crack brush as freely ; he walked on down the trail toward
An Optimist.
but a wolf pack would also bay to Dan.
“ I’m sorry to see you here," said the
wal e »he dead. O f course It might he
Dan stopped and lighted hls own
an elk or n steer, and still more likely, pipe. It was n curious little truce. friend of a convicted bank embezzler.
“ Oh. there Isn't much change, after
a bear. He stood still and listened. And then he leaned back against the
all," said the prisoner, cheerfully.
The sou ml grew nearer.
great gray trunk o f a fallen tree.
"N o?"
Soon It became evident that the crea
“ Well, Cranston," he said civilly.
“ You see, I had been shut up In a
ture was either walking with two legs, The men had met on previous oc
or else was a four-footed unlinul put casions, and always there had been cage and looking through bars for
years before 1 came here. These bars
ting two feet down nt the same In the same Invisible war between them.
“ How do you do. Falling,” Cranston are Just a little thicker, and instead
stant. Dan had learned to wait. He
o f being brass they are steel."
stood perfectly still. And gradually replied. No perceptions could be so
he came to the conclusion that he blunt as to miss the premeditated In
Tragic.
was listening to the footfall of an
sult In the tone, lie didn’t speak In
He (during quarrel)— Then why
hls own tongue at all. the short, gut
other man.
But It was rather hard to Imagine tural “ Howdy” that Is the greeting did you marry me?
She— Just to get even with that
what a man might be doing on this of the mountain men. lie pronounced
lonely hill. O f course It might he a all the words with an exaggerated pre hateful Maud Brown and to make her
deer hunter; but few were the valley cision, an unmistakable mockery of cry her eyes out because I took you
sportsmen who had penetrated to this Dan’s own tone. In hls accent he away from her.
He— Good heavens, woman, what
far land. The footfall was much too threw a tone of sickly sweetness, and
heavy for Snowbird. The steps were Ids Inference was nh too plain.
He have yon done? Why. I ntnrried you
evidently on another trail that Inter w *t simply culling Falling a milksop Just because she threw me over.
sected hls own trail one hundred yards I and a whlte-hver; Just as plainly as
H ard Work.
farther up the hill. He had only to If he had used the words.
“ Is that new hired man a hard !
stand still, and In an Instant the man
The eyes of the two men met.
would come In sight.
Franston's Ups were slightly curled In worker?"
“ I’ll say he Is.” replied Farmer
He took one step Into the thickets | an unmistakable leer.
Dan’s were
“ I don't know anybody
prepared to »-oncea! himself If It be
very straight. And In one thing at Corntossel.
came necessary. Then he waited. 8©»»n least, their eyes looked Just
same. that work seemed to go harder with
the man stepped out on the trail.
The pupils of both pairs ha»l contracted than it does with him.”
Kven at the distance o f one hundred to steel points, bright in the «lark gray
A Matter of Taste.
yards, Dan had no difficulty whatever of the Irises. Cranston's looked some
The Equestrienne— Oh. I'm so furi
In recognising him.
He could not what reft ; an»l Dan’s were orly hard
mistake this tall, »lark form, the soiled, and brlfcht.
ous with myself!
“ Why?”
slouchy clothes, the rough hair, th«»
Intent, »lark features. It was a man
“ For liking so much the kiss Jack
about hls own age. hls own height, j
Thruslier made me take in the park
but weighing fully twenty pounds
this morning."—Judge.
more, ami the »lark, narrow eyes could
Of Course Not!
belong to no one but Bert Cranston.
I Staff Officer (benevolently to little
(T O BK C O N T I N I B D .)
He carried hls ride loosely In hta arms.
g irt)— And what Is your name, my
He stopped at the forks in the trail
Ha* to Be Clever.
dear?
and looked carefully In all directions.
Modern “ Little t*ear“— IVyou know
■'She's a clever conversational le t”
Pun had every reason to think that
"She l as to he, to covet op k
you shouldn’t speak to a lady without
Cm nut on would see him at flrst glance.
'leiug Introduced.
Only »me clump of thicket sheltered breaks h *r husband i
Gives Tanlac Credit
For Splendid Health
T. J. P A R K E R
4246 Juneau Street, Seattle, Wash.
“ I used to think all the Tanlac tes
timonials were exaggerated, but 1
have felt thankful a thousand times I
ever believed In It strong enough to
give the medicine a trial,” said T. J.
Parker,
well-known
salesman for
Gately's Clothing Store, residing at
4246 Juneau St., Seattle, Wash.
"Several years ago I commenced
having periodic spells of sickness and
u few months ago I had an attack that
I thought would finish me. When I
did finally get up, 1 was scarcely able
to go. I had no appetite and what lit
tle I forced myself to eat caused so
much gas on my stomach I could hard
ly get my breath.
“ At night I was often so bloated I
couldn't breathe while lying down and
just had to sit up and struggle for
air. At times 1 had cramps so bud I
could hardly endure It.
“ My liver was sluggish and some
times I got so dizzy I would nearly
fall. I felt tired and miserable all the
time, couldn’t even sleep and for days
at a time I wasn’t aide to go to work.
“ Well, a friend of mine finally got
me to try Tanlac, and it certainly has
done a good Job for me.
My appe
tite Is fine now anil although I am
eating just anything I want and as
much as I please, my stomach never
gives me the least trouble. 1 have
picked up la weight, my strength has
come hack to me. and I am now en
joying the best of health.
“ All the men at the store know
Tanlac put me back on my feet, and I
am glad {it give this statement for
what it may he worth to others.”
Tanlac is sold by leading druggists
everywhere.— Adv.
His M e th o d .
Two negro men were discussing the
eloquence of a certain member of the
faculty of an educate ; al institution
for negroes in a south' ,i state.
‘That Professor Bigg- sure does like
to use high soundin' words, don’t lie?”
asked one o f them.
“ Maybe dal’s Jest an aifectlon on his
part,” said the other darky. "Some
folks do like to put on airs in talkln.’ ”
“ No, I don’t figure it out dut way,”
said the other. “ I kinder thinks he
uses them big words because lie’s
afraid dut if people knew what he was
talkin’ about they’d know he didn’t
know what he was talkin’ about.”—
Harpers Magazine.
Wisdom is the knowledge of know
ing what to do next.— K. Markham.
ALLEN'S FOOT-EASE DOES IT
W hen shoes pinch or corns and bunions
ncho, got a package o f A L L E N ’S F O O T ^
EASE, the antiseptic pow der to be shaken
! into the shoes.
It takes the sting out o f
corns and bunions, gives instant re lief to
Smarting, Aching, Swollen feet.
1.600.000
pounds o f pow der fo r the feet w ere used
by our A rm y and N a v y during the w ar.— A dv.
What Alcobronze Is.
Possessing the luster and color of
gohl, stronger, tougher, and harder
than ordinary bronze, a new alloy of
copper and aluminum bids fair to
have a wide use.
The new metal
has been named alcobronze.
It is stated by its sponsors that the
new alloy can be wrought, forged, or
Steady Stream.
rolled without deterioration. It also
A Brazilian liv in g in Now York has resists the action of the air, acids,
invented a machine to cast piston and salt water. This makes it par
rings at a rate of 18,000 to 20.000 a ticularly suitable for forgings, pro
day by whirling molten metal into pellers, and other ships’ parts.— Popu
shape by centrifugal force.
lar Science Monthly.
A Kentucky journal mentions n
Marrying an heiress is almost aa
“ yawning oil well” In that state. unsatisfactory as any other get-rieh-
Somebody must have been boring it. qulck scheme.
— o --- ö
<^>----- o — o — <3— o — o ---- o — d — g r
It’s So Easy to
Make the Change
T h ere’s no both er a n d no
sa crifice in turning away
from the ills w h ich some
times come from tea and cof
fee, w h en y ou decide o n
P ostum C ereal
T h en you have a r ic h , full-bodied
table beverage which fully satisfies
the taste — and there’s no ingred
ient to harm nerves or digestion .
Thousands have changed to Postum
as the b e tte r yneal-tim e d r i n k
a n d th e y d o n t tu rn b a c k .
S u p p o s e y o u try the chang'e for
ten d a y s a n d note the result.
There s a Reason for Postum
Hade by Pas cum Cereal Co., Inc., Battle Creek Jixi.